By Kevin J. Sabo
For the Bashaw Star
Tensions ran high during a delegation to the Town of Bashaw council meeting on June 17, 2021.
James Carpenter and Dr. Tony Mucciarone the Bashaw Retreat Centre (formerly Bashaw Meadows) attended the council meeting to discuss a proposed use of their facility with council.
The pair have been working with a group from Maskwacis for the last “three or four months.” The group, Young Spirit Wind Society, has operated day-programs out at Maskwacis since 2006 for Indigenous youth aged 12 to 17 who are dealing with mental health or addiction issues.
The society has been in discussion with Carpenter and Dr. Mucciarone to expand their program to include a family program, based out of the Bashaw Retreat Centre.
The program, which would be staffed 24-hours a day, would bring together a troubled youth, and his supports, such as their parents or grandparents, and allow them to reconnect with their spirituality and learn new life-skills while also removing them from the negative environment they found themselves in.
“(The clients) are not unsupervised. They are not going for a weekend to dry out,” said Carpenter.
“We’re caught trying to navigate a little bit of where we fit in the facility under the (Town of Bashaw’s) Direct Control (Zoning).”
The pair believe that the current zoning allows for this type of use, however, Chief Administrative Officer Theresa Fuller disagrees.
“I feel the expanse of this project could be a community issue should council proceed with the decision prior to public consult,” said Fuller.
“The town does have a public participation policy. It basically commits to our residents to engage the public on anything we feel they might want more information on or may be impacted by.”
The recommendation was decried by Carpenter, citing that when council previously approved use of the facility as a retreat centre, no public engagement was needed, and that it was his belief that the only reason for this engagement was because the group is Indigenous.
“If this wasn’t First Nations, I don’t believe we would even be at this discussion right now,” said Carpenter.
“(Under the retreat zoning) we can have First Nations people there this weekend, if Covid were to allow. The only thing preventing us from already doing this is Covid.”
Carpenter and Mucciarone also question why public engagement has to be done now, when previous changes to the facility use didn’t have to.
“When we did apply to make (Bashaw Meadows) an event centre, there was no public consultation,” said Mucciarone.
“It just seems funny that there wasn’t then, and now there is.”
Carpenter and Mucciarone argued that as a retreat centre, the use of the facility for this reason would be allowed.
Part of the issue is the fact that the facility is a direct-control zoned property, as it does not fit neatly into the other zoning categories such as commercial or residential. As direct control property, the town council has ultimate say over discretionary uses of the property.
“In my opinion, and my role as development officer, these activities do constitute a variation in the use (of the property),” said Fuller.
“As direct control (zoning), council has a right to make decisions on activities.”
Carpenter disagreed with the CAO’s position on the matter, saying again that he believed it was race playing a factor for the extra requirements.
“In our conversations with the CAO, she noted the issues that were going on in her community with the First Nations moving in,” said Carpenter.
“I know that it’s not a very comfortable conversation, but it’s not one I’m going to let go of. I would throw caution to council, I appreciate the process, but I also appreciate what is going on in the world right now, and I would hate to see any hint that the colour of one’s skin might influence this.”
Fuller responded by going through previous minutes, where the zoning of the Bashaw Retreat Centre was initially discussed and allowed to go ahead as a staffed independent senior’s facility, and not as a retreat centre, also noting that “retreat centre” is not actually defined in the Land Use Bylaw.
She also stood by her opinion, that a project such as this should have community engagement.
“I feel that it is still in the community’s best interest to have engagement if there is going to be a retreat centre, of any nationality,” said Fuller.
“We have many new residents who have bought homes or renovated their homes, and I feel that it is important that they be given the opportunity to have discussion and get information on this prior to the process.”
Carpenter stated Fuller’s comment was a “NIMBY” (Not in my back yard) mentality, and that he would fight for this project to go ahead. Muccaroni agreed with the sentiment.